Rice Diet for Diabetics

The rice diet is a program that treats diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease by taking off excess weight rapidly. Obesity is often the cause of diabetes, making it important for diabetics to lose any extra weight and to maintain their goal weight. The rice diet has been in use since Dr. Walter Kempner started using it to treat his patients in 1939. Diabetics should always speak to their nutritionist before starting a new diet.

The Rice Diet Menu

• The rice diet uses rice as a staple food, but it is not composed entirely of rice. Diabetics who choose the rice diet have more than 30 choices available to them at mealtime. This includes several types of rice as a source of starch. The other options on the rice diet menu include fish, grains, fruits and vegetables and beans.

Balancing Nutrients

• The menu items on the rice diet vary in their nutrient composition, but all of them are low in fat and salt. The diet uses fish and beans for protein, keeping protein relatively low. The goal protein intake for the day is about 20 grams. The goal sodium intake is 150 mg or less. The goal fat intake is 5 grams or less each day.

Rapid Weight Loss

• The rice diet is designed to take off weight rapidly in the first two to four weeks. Some diabetics stay on the diet for only this long to jump-start their weight loss. Diabetics with a lot of weight to lose may stay on the diet for a longer period to get their weight under control faster. According to the Rice Diet Clinic in North Carolina, some diabetics who have gone on the diet have not only lost weight, they have also become less dependent on insulin injections.

Sample Menu

• Meals are made up of combinations of starch, fruit and vegetables. Each breakfast requires two servings of starch and two servings of fruit. Each lunch and dinner requires three servings of starch, three servings of vegetables and one serving of fruit.

  Breakfast (starch and fruit): Hot cereal, one piece of fresh fruit and fruit juice

  Lunch (starch, vegetable and fruit): Pasta with vegetable sauce, piece of toast and one piece of fruit

  Dinner (starch, vegetables and fruit): Dinner roll, rice with vegetable sauce, beans, two vegetable sides and fruit juice